Method of producing seed marker tabs

ABSTRACT

An improved seed marker tab comprising an elongated flat tab element proportioned to have one end thereof inserted in the soil to a predetermined level with the other end thereof projecting above the soil. The tab is formed of stiff, relatively thin, self-supporting material and the end portion that is inserted in the soil has preferably an indentation or pod formed in one end thereof. Openings provided at the back of the pod for receiving seeds specifically determine number and location of seeds mounted on the tab. Filler material covers the seeds overlying the openings to complete the assembly. The improved seed marker tab results from a new process whereby vacuum means are used to hold the seed in place while the tab assembly is completed.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 182,950, filedSept. 2, 1980, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,183.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains generally to the planting of seeds, such asflower, vegetable and tree seeds, and more particularly to an improvedmarker seed tab device which facilitates planting and germination ofsuch seeds.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

In the conventional method of planting small quantities of flower,vegetable or tree seeds, a small depression or hole is made in the soilto what is believed to be the correct depth for the particular type ofseed being planted, and what is believed to be the correct quantity ofseed is then deposited in the hole, with the seed or seeds then beingcovered over with soil.

It will be readily apparent that with such prior planting methods thereis considerable possiblity for error both in depth of planting and thenumber of seeds planted. In instances where it is desirable to germinateseeds under controlled environmental conditions, it has been thepractice initially to plant the seeds in a tray or flat, and followinggermination and sprouting of the seedlings to transplant physically theseedlings to the desired location; such a procedure is obviously bothlaborious and wasteful of both seed and time.

In prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,098,320 and 3,098,321 issued to thepresent inventor, there is described and illustrated a seed marker tabcomprising an elongated tab proportioned to have one end inserted in thesoil at a predetermined level with the other end thereof projectingabove the soil. In this prior seed marker tab, one end portion of thetab has at least a part of one surface thereof coated with adhesivematerial with a predetermined number of seeds adhered thereto and with alayer of blotting paper adhered to the adhesive material thus coveringand protecting the seed. A plurality of such prior seed marker tabs maybe joined edgewise initially to form a card for merchandising purposes,and the tabs may be subsequently separated for individual use.

In U.S. Pat. No. 3,098,321 such seed marker tabs were improved toprovide a seed marker tab comprising an elongated flat tab proportionedto have one end thereof inserted in the soil to a predetermined levelwith the other end thereof projecting above the soil. The tab was formedof stiff, relatively thin, self-supporting material such as plastic andthe end portion that was inserted in the soil had an indentation or podformed in one surface thereof. A predetermined quantity of seed was thenpositioned in the pod and a relatively thin layer of absorbent materialwas adhered to and covered at least a part of a surface of the tab inwhich the pod was formed, thus covering the seed.

The improved seed marker tab of the present invention has been furthermodified to refine and improve the placement of seeds as well as todefine a structure which would permit proper alignment of a specificnumber of seeds and including a filler material to fill the cavity inwhich the seeds are placed. Different sizes or shapes of seeds can beplaced each in a separate tab which can be connected together to form asingle card; and the vertical locations of seed-receiving openings canbe varied to optimize planting depths for varying types of seeds.Further, the marker tab is formed of a biodegradable material tofacilitate germination and growth of seedlings.

The improved seed marker tab is particularly useful with a new processdesigned to more efficiently and effectively fill and process the seedmarker tabs during manufacture.

Thus the present improvement represents an advance over the seed tabs ofthe prior art as described below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an improved seed marker tab whichcomprises an elongated flat tab proportioned at one end thereof andinserted in the soil to a predetermined level with the other end portionthereof projecting above the soil. The end portion which is inserted inthe soil has an indentation or pod formed in a lower end thereof. Holesprovided in the indentation are specifically sized to accommodatecertain seed types and are numerically placed to carefully control theamount of seeds placed in the pod. Further, the holes are verticallyaligned to insure proper planting depth for the seeds when used inconjunction with the planting line provided on the marker tab.

The manufacturing process associated with the production of seed markertabs is greatly simplified by the inclusion of these predetermined,presized and prelocated hole patterns provided in the pod in the markertab. For example, a vacuum provided below the pod holds in place onlythose seeds which fall into the holes provided in the pod when anindeterminate amount of seed is poured over the tab. The remaining seedscan then be blown or vacuumed or brushed away, leaving behind only theseeds held in place in the holes in the pod by the vacuum applied frombelow. Then, an appropriate filler material, preferably an absorbentmaterial containing disease inhibiting or growth enhancing chemicals canbe applied to the seeds to fill the pod. Alternative forms of completingthe assembly include covering the seeds and the filler material in thepod with an absorbent adhesive tape. Another alternative structure ofthe seed marker tab provides a tab with no indentation but with holes ofan appropriate size, depth and number specifically positioned on thetab. A vacuum is applied to the marker tab from below, the unwantedseeds are then swept away and an adhesive material is sprayed onto themarker tab or tape is wrapped around the tab to hold the seeds in place.

The present invention provides an improved and more efficient marker tabarrangement than disclosed in the prior art and further disclosesprocess which facilitates the manufacture of such improved marker tab.These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparentupon a reading of the following specification and an inspection of theaccompanying drawings, and the features of novelty which characterizeour invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claimsannexed to and forming a part of this specification.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective showing a plurality of edgewise joinedseed marker tabs which incorporate the improvement specified in thepresent invention;

FIG. 2a is a perspective view of a seed marker tab showing the placementof the seed receiving holes in the marker tab;

FIG. 2b is a cross-sectional view of the seed marker tab of FIG. 2a;

FIG. 2c is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a seed marker tabsimilar to the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 2b, a portion of theview merely showing tamping means for pressing the filler material inplace;

FIG. 3a is a perspective view of a seed marker tab having elongatedslots in the indentation in the tab;

FIG. 3b is a cross-sectional view of the seed marker tab of FIG. 3a;

FIG. 3c is a view taken along the line 3c--3c of FIG. 3a;

FIG. 4a is a perspective view of another embodiment of the seed markertab of the present invention;

FIG. 4b is a cross-sectional view of the seed marker tab shown in FIG.4a;

FIG. 5a is a broken away portion of another embodiment of a seed markertab of the present invention;

FIG. 5b is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5b--5b of FIG.5a, similar to FIG. 3c;

FIG. 6a is a view of yet another embodiment of the improved seed markertab of the present invention;

FIG. 6b is a cross-sectional view of the seed marker tab of FIG. 6a;

FIG. 7a is yet another embodiment of the improved seed marker tab of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7b is a cross-sectional view of the seed marker tab of FIG. 7a; and

FIG. 8 is a view of the improved seed marker tab of the presentinvention wherein a water barrier is provided therefor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2a, 2b and 2c of the drawing, there is shown acard 10 comprising a plurality of initially edgewise joined seed markertab elements or tabs 14. Each seed marker tab element or tab 14 isformed of a suitable biodegradable, self-supporting material which willnot be crumpled when inserted in the soil. Each tab element 14 has alower end portion 16 adapted to be inserted in the soil to apredetermined level, indicated generally by planting line 18, and anupper portion 20 which projects above the planting line 18. An oblongaxially extending indentation or pod 22 is formed in the lower endportion 16, as shown. The desired seed 28, shown here as a pair ofrelatively small seeds 28, are positioned in the pod 22 onpre-positioned openings 30 (see FIG. 2b). The openings 30 are positionedat a predetermined location with respect to the planting line 18 asdetermined by the particular seed. Note the differences in seed levelsshown in FIG. 1 for the three left-hand tab elements 14.

As shown in FIG. 2c, after the seed 28 is located over the opening 30 byappropriate means as described herein the pod 22 is filled with asuitable filler material 34 and the filler material 34 is forced ortamped down by means such as the tamper 36. Thus, the filler materil 34is pressed into intimate contact with the seed 28 and intimatelyinterfaces side walls 23 of pod 22 and adheres to the walls 23. Thus,the seed 28 is retained within the filler material 34 and the fillermaterial 34 is retained within the pod 22 of the seed marker tab 14.

Referring now to FIGS. 3a and 3b it is noted that the indentation or pod22 may have openings of varying size and elongation and location canvary from the top to the bottom of the pod 22. For example, in FIG. 3aelongated openings 32 are provided in pod 22 of the seed marker tab 14to accommodate an elongated seed 33. FIG. 3c is a view taken along theline 3c--3c of FIG. 3a and shows a cross-sectional view across the widthof the pod 22 which indicates side walls 23 as generally straight ascompared to another embodiment of the seed marker tab as discussedlater.

A further embodiment of an improved seed marker tab is shown in FIGS.4a, and 4b. FIG. 4a shows a seed marker tab or tab element 44. The seedmarker tab or tab element 44 is formed of suitable biodegradable,self-supporting material which will not be crumpled when inserted in thesoil. Each tab element 44 has a lower end portion 46 adapted to beinserted in the soil to a predetermined level indicated by a plantingline 47, and an upper portion 48 which projects above the planting line47. An oblong, axially extending indentation or pod 50 is formed in thelower portion 46 of the tab 44 with a tape 51 covering the pod as shownin FIG. 4a. Seeds 52 may be suitably placed over openings 54 as shown inFIG. 4b and held in place by a vacuum. Thereinafter filler material 56is inserted into the pod 50 and the tape 51 is extended across the pods50 to hold the filler material 56 in place in the pods 50 in the seedmarker tabs 44. Preferably the tape 51 is dimensioned and located toexpose equal upper and lower portions of the pod 50 to permit egress ofroot and cotyledon of germinated seed 52 from pod 50 containing seed 52and filler material 56 (germinating medium).

Referring now to FIGS. 5a and 5b wherein another embodiment of animproved seed marker tab is shown, it can be seen that a marker tab 60having an indentation or pod 62 may have the walls 64 of the pod 62outwardly extending so that an upper opening 62a of the pod 62 issmaller than a lower surface 62b of the pod 62 to provide a moresuitable receptacle for receiving seeds 66 and retaining filler material68. Thus simple physical dimensioning will provide a more effective podshape for retaining seed and filler material.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 6a and 6bwherein a seed marker tab 70 may have openings 72 therein. Seeds 74 maybe positioned in the openings 72 and held in pace by a vacuum or othermeans and a plastic film 76, such as used in skin packaging, may beapplied to the marker tab 70 to hold the seeds in place. The plasticfilm should be water soluble to permit the seeds to free themselves onceplanted in water.

A further embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 7a and7b wherein a tab 80 of degradable and hygroscopic material contains arelatively large opening 81. A thin material strip 85 adheres to theback of the tab 80 beneath the opening 81 to form a pod 82 in the tab80, the strip 85 having seed openings 86 therein to permit a vacuum todraw seeds 83 to the seed openings 86 and hold them in place for theinsertion of a filler material 84. Such a construction as represented bythe tab 80 may be used in volume production of seed marker tabs, whethersuch production be continuous or in discrete sections.

Viewing FIG. 8 seed marker tabs 90 having an upper section 92 and alower section 94 and a pod 96 may be provided with a non-absorbentcoating 97 which acts as a moisture barrier which extends to the soilline 98 to prevent the evaporation of moisture wicked up the lowerportion 94 of the tab 90 by the hygroscopic nature of the material fromwhich the seed marker tab 90 is formed when the tab 90 is inserted belowthe soil surface.

As shown in FIGS. 1-9 above the improved seed marker tab has anelongated pod which has openings at specific locations in the pod, suchopenings of appropriate size and shape to hold a particular size andshape of seed when a vacuum is created on the back of the pod. Thenumber, depth and location of seed is determined in this fashion. Whilethe seeds are being held in the proper location by a vacuum, such vacuumto emanate from a nozzle, such as the nozzle 100 in FIG. 2c, a physicalsubstance is inserted into the pod so that when the vacuum is releasedthe seeds will stay in place for proper planting depth. The openings inthe pods can be modified so that for elongated seeds the pod openingscan be elongated slots so that such elongated seeds are held in place intheir proper positions by a vacuum. With elongated slots the vacuum isnot sufficient to hold a misaligned seed in place but will operate tohold the seed in place when it lies along the slot in an elongatedfashion. Such principle is demonstrated in FIG. 3 of the subjectapplication.

In the preparation of the tabs, the series of tabs or cards are placedon a relatively horizontal surface, vacuum is put on the openings at theunder side of each pod, or seed receiving area, a random amount of seedis dropped on the seed marker tab, specific numbers of seeds are held tospecific openings in the seed marker tabs by the vacuum applied to theunderside of the tab and after a short time delay the excess seed may beblown off or sucked off, leaving only those seeds held in place by thevacuum. There is no critical balance between vacuum levels and blow-offor suck-off pressures because the vacuum applied to the rear side of thetab holds the seed intimately while the other air affects essentiallyloose seed which is not as intimately controlled by the seed holdingvacuum. An alternative method of disposing of loose seed is to simplytip the card of seed marker tabs while the vacuum is on to drop theloose seed off.

Once the excess seed is cleared off, the pod is filld with a suitablefiller material which is then tamped in place to squeeze down the fillermaterial to fill the pod and intimately contact the seed. Then thetamper is removed, the vacuum on the pod holes is removed and the seedmarker tab is a complete assembly.

As shown above various methods have been provided to retain the seed andfiller material in the pod. For example, in one instance the fillermaterial may be of such consistency and have such adhering properties asto hold seed and filler material in the pod without any specialstructure of the pod or additional structure added to the seed markertab. However, as shown in FIG. 4 a suitable tape can be placed acrossthe pod once the filler material is in place to hold the filler materialand seed in the pod for planting. Alternatively as shown in FIG. 5 thepod can be undercut and sloped on its under side to prevent the fillermaterial from flowing out of the pod. When the pod is undercut as shownin FIG. 5 there is no requirement for the addition of tape.

However, the filler material of the preferred embodiment is a substancewhich fills the pod and adheres to the side of the pod because of theadhesive properties of the filler material, and because the interface ofthe surfaces interlace; that is, fibrous protrusions between pod edgesand substance edges or the intimate relations of the two contactingsurfaces prevents the filler material from flowing out of the pod eitherin a wet condition or after it has dried.

Thus, for example in the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 7, theadhesive material secured to the back of the tab to form the pod, may beremoved after the assembly is complete. Such removal of the tape couldbe helpful in the germination of smaller seeds.

In lieu of a pod seed openings may be specifically located on a seedmarker tab, seeds poured on an upper side of the tab, a vacuum appliedto the underside of the tab to hold the seed in the openings in place,and the excess seed then removed. A plastic tape may then be placed overthe seed in place on the tab to hold it there. FIG. 6 discloses thisembodiment of the present invention.

The present invention thus comprises an improved seed marker tabincluding several generic embodiments thereof and an associated methodof manufacture for the improved marker tab.

It is therefore intended that all such embodiments and substitutions becovered as they are embraced within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. An improved process for producing seed marker tabscomprising:a first step of providing a tab element of verticallyelongated proportions having a first lower end portion and a secondupper end portion, a planting line dividing the tab element into saidfirst lower end portion and said second upper end portion, said firstlower end portion being inserted into a planting medium to apredetermined depth with the second upper end portion projecting abovethe planting medium, and said tab element being formed of biodegradeablematerial sufficiently rigid so as to be self-supporting when insertedinto the planting medium, a second step of providing an opening throughthe lower end portion of the tab element, a third step of providing abacking material on the lower end portion of the tab element to closeone end of the opening therethrough and thereby provide an area forreceiving seeds, a fourth step of providing the backing material closingthe one end of the opening in the lower end portion of the tab elementwith a pattern of seed-receiving openings extending therethrough, theseed-receiving openings of specific number and depth to accommodate thetype of seed received in each of said openings, and the seed-receivingopenings specifically located with respect to the planting line tooptimize the planting depth for each specific variety of seed mounted onthe seed marker tab, a fifth step of placing the tab on a relativelyhorizontal surface, a sixth step of exposing the seed-receiving area ofthe tab to a dispersion of a random number of seeds of a specificvariety for each tab element on an upper surface of the seed-receivingarea provided on the lower end portion of the tab element, a seventhstep of applying a vacuum to the lower surface of the seed-receivingarea of the seed marker tab to retain individual seeds in each of theseed-receiving openings provided in the seed-receiving area of the tabelement, an eighth step of removing the excess seeds from the the tabelement, a nineth step of covering the seed remaining in theseed-receiving area of the tab element with means for retaining the seedon the tab when the vacuum applied to the lower surface of theseed-receiving area of the tab element is removed, and a tenth step ofremoving the vacuum when the retaining means is in place to hold theseed on the tab.
 2. The process as claimed in claim 1 wherein theprovision of backing material mounted on the lower end portion of thetab element in the fourth step defines a pod or similar recessedreceptacle having side walls in the lower end portion of the element. 3.The process as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the eighth step comprisesapplying a vacuum to the upper surface of the pod to draw off excessseeds while the lower vacuum retains the seeds which fell into theseed-receiving openings.
 4. The process as claimed in claim 1 or 2wherein the eighth step comprises applying a concentrated air current toblow off excess seeds while the lower vacuum retains the seeds whichfell into the seed-receiving openings.
 5. The process as claimed inclaim 1 or 2 wherein the eighth step comprises tipping the tab elementto permit excess seeds to drop off while the lower vacuum retains theseeds which fell into the seed-receiving openings.
 6. The process asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the ninth step comprises wrapping awater-soluble plastic film around the seeds retained in theseed-receiving openings on the tab element after the excess seeds areremoved.
 7. The process as claimed in claim 2 wherein the ninth stepincludes inserting a filler material in the receptacle to cover andretain the seeds retained in the seed-receiving openings on the tabelement after the excess seeds are removed.
 8. The process as claimed inclaim 7 wherein the ninth step includes tamping the filler materialinserted in the pod to better enable the filler material to adhere tothe side walls of the pod.
 9. The process as claimed in claim 7 whereinthe ninth step includes covering a portion of the pod, when the fillermaterial is in place, with a tape, such tape exposing respective upperand lower portions of the pod to permit normal germination of the seedstherein.